ROI for law firms
the modeled return of one Prest0n for small and mid-size law firms: hours returned, first-year value after fees and onboarding, the full range and the limits.
the lead scenario
what one Prest0n could return to the smaller firm this report starts with, in its first year.
every scenario
each firm the report models, side by side.
the full range and the stress tests
each line moves one assumption to its low and its high value and shows the first-year net that results. the last line moves two assumptions together.
role by role
one full-time person in each role, with every listed task given to Prest0n except the ones kept by hand.
what Prest0n does not do here
Prest0n prepares the work; your people review it and decide.
- Prest0n gives no legal advice.
- Prest0n files nothing with a court or agency, and signs nothing.
- attorneys review the work and make every decision.
- returned hours are capacity your team can use; they become savings only when they replace a hire, overtime, temps or outside spend.
- hourly firms cannot bill time saved.
sources
the public data the report’s wages and task hours rest on.
pre-release
pre-release: these reports are a draft and may change before release.
the modeled return
| firm (modeled) | plan | hours returned a month (modeled) | first-year value (modeled) | first-year cost | first-year net (modeled) | payback (modeled) | first-year net range (modeled) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small immigration, personal-injury and workers' compensation firm (11 people, flat-fee and contingency) | 1 Prest0n, annual, billed monthly | 332 | $98,487 | $51,269 | $47,218 | month 4 | −$2,117 to $130,383 |
| Mid-size litigation and corporate firm (45 people, hourly) | 5 Prest0ns, annual, billed monthly | 1,176 | $432,292 | $173,374 | $258,918 | month 4 | −$446,116 to $693,838 |
modeled estimates from the open ROI report, version 2026-10, prices as of 9 October 2026. returned hours are capacity, not cash; these are modeled, not guaranteed, and not a promise of results.
by role (modeled, one full-time person)
| role | hours returned a month (modeled) | net value a month (modeled) | share of one Prest0n's month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paralegal (incl. English-Spanish translation work) | 38 | $1,302 | 11% |
| Billing and trust-accounting coordinator | 38 | $1,167 | 11% |
| Marketing / business-development coordinator | 37 | $1,804 | 6.9% |
| Legal assistant / intake specialist | 36 | $680 | 22% |
| Associate attorney | 33 | $3,133 | 18% |
| Partner / shareholder | 15 | $3,442 | 8.3% |
evidence
44 tasks; 31 rest on grade-C (weakest) evidence, 40% of the lead firm's modeled value.
- AI-Powered Lawyering: AI Reasoning Models, Retrieval Augmented Generation, and the Future of Legal Practice (Table 9: time spent across tasks) — Schwarcz, Manning, Barry, Cleveland, Prescott, Rich (University of Minnesota / University of Michigan) source
- Where the Money Goes: Understanding Litigant Expenditures for Producing Electronic Discovery — RAND Institute for Civil Justice (Nicholas M. Pace, Laura Zakaras) source
- Drafting a deposition summary (section: how long does a deposition summary take?) — LezDo TechMed (litigation support provider) source
- Medical record review and analysis — LezDo TechMed (medical record review provider) source
- Webinar question: how many words per day? (follow-up to an American Translators Association webinar) — Training for Translators (Corinne McKay) source
- LawGeex Hits 94% Accuracy in NDA Review vs 85% for Human Lawyers — Artificial Lawyer (reporting the LawGeex study) source
- Demand letter process — Tavrn (legal AI vendor) source
- Demand letter workflow — CaseMark (legal AI vendor) source
- Intapp: Firms Spend 8.2 Hours Per Matter On Conflict Checks — Artificial Lawyer (reporting Intapp research) source
- ABA Model Rules on Client Trust Account Records, Rule 1 and comment — American Bar Association source
- RFP Response Trends & Benchmarks Report 2025 — Loopio (with APMP) source
- Upwork Freelance Paralegal: Cost and Hiring Guide in 2026 — LegalSoft source
- Cost of hiring a paralegal (2026) — Stealth Agents (staffing vendor) source
- How Much Does Translation Cost in the USA? — Translayte (translation vendor) source
- Agency Information Collection Activities: Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130 and I-130A), 60-day notice — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Federal Register (FR Doc. 2026-14384) source
- Automating law firm calendaring and docketing (guide) — Enterprise DNA source
- Law firm invoice review and approval costs — Enterprise DNA source
- 5 KPIs to Improve Law Firm Intake & Sign-Ups — Filevine source
- ABA Formal Opinion 512: Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools — American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility source
- Analysis of ABA Formal Opinion 512 fee guidance — Thomson Reuters Institute (William Josten) source
- Legal Ethics Opinion 1901: Reasonable Fees and the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence — Supreme Court of Virginia (approved Legal Ethics Opinion 1901) source
- Blogging Statistics 2026: What 1,042 Content Marketers Told Us About What Works — Orbit Media Studios source
- How Much Should I Charge as a Lawyer? Average hourly rates by state and practice area — Clio source
- Law firm key performance indicators (Legal Trends benchmarks) — Clio source
- Legal Trends: average lawyer hourly rates — Clio source
- AI-Powered Lawyering: AI Reasoning Models, Retrieval Augmented Generation, and the Future of Legal Practice — Schwarcz, Manning, Barry, Cleveland, Prescott, Rich (University of Minnesota / University of Michigan) source
- Employer Costs for Employee Compensation - June 2026 (news release) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics source
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Paralegals and Legal Assistants (Pay) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics source